"The Run Faster advertising that ran in Canadian Running magazine overstepped the bounds of good taste. A lot. And, we offended many of you," the company wrote." While it was never our intention to make light of this serious subject, this ad crossed the line and used poor judgment. For this, we apologize."

Pearl Izumi also made a $10,000 donation to the Boulder Valley Humane Society in Colorado, where the company's U.S. offices are.

The dead-dog ad isn't the first Pearl Izumi running ad to draw strong reactions. One campaign used the tag line, "We are not joggers" to try to distinguish Pearl Izumi customers from more casual runners. The company maintains a site at the URL wearenotjoggers.com, but that site's title is now Run Like an Animal.